#mega con 2024

[greeneyed-thestral]

Good Omens x Tuta Gold

[petty-d4bblr]

Abby's pics from Mega Con Live 2024 were so good that they inspired this little drawing of Matt Ryan

Source image

[roninkairi]

New York Comic Con Part 6 (Look...I'm No Sugar Daddy...Those Days Are Long Over...)

He's seen better days, I assume!

Like, ZOINKS!!!

...really? We're doing this?

...give me Fred, please.

And since Chester is here---

(Cut to Soundwave, Blaster, Bumblebee and Rumble having a party. Suddenly Starscream walks in front of the doorway.)

Starscream: Uh...you guys having a party?

Blaster: ...nope

Soundwave: Negative.

Bumblebee: No.

Rumble: No.

(Rumble awkwardly closes the door. The music plays again.)

Starscream: I can still see you.

Soundwave's Voice: Yes, we know.

And yes, finally, the last of the stuff you will have to put into storage one day to make room for more stuff.

[my-autistic-self]

Random Prompt #116

Are there any activities or hobbies you’ve outgrown or lost interest in over time? There is one that I can think of right now. Sewing: I have lost interest in Sewing over the years. Over time, when I’m in school and mainly focus on art, I’m trying, though. I thought about doing it again when I went to Mega-Con a few weeks ago. After seeing all the cosplays they made, they made me feel like I…

[digi-lov]

DIGIMON CARD GAME: Next Plan Announcement

Very exciting news for what's to come in 2025 and beyond!! Must read for Appmon fans!

SPECIAL BOOSTER Ver.2.5 [BT19-20] Release Date: February 28, 2025!

In Japan the next release is BT-20 Booster Over the X!

We got some previews of what to expect! With Tamers from Digimon Chronicle and Chronicle X, Digimon Seekers, and Digimon Liberator, as well as Alphamon Ouryuken Ace and Zephagamon Ace!!

The Special Booster Ver. 2.5 will include serial cards WarGreymon & MetalGarurumon!

There will be a Celebration Event for Special Booster Ver. 2.5 The Event Period is February 21 - March 7, 2025 and all players will receive a BT20-090 Yuuki alt-art as a prize!

Here's another look at the first wave of official sleeves for 2025!

Next we have the illustration and logo to commemorate the global unification of the Digimon Card Game release! This included the Japanese, English, and Simplified Chinese releases.

The Release dates for the next Starter Decks, ST-20 Protector of Light and ST-21 Hero of Hope have been revealed to be April 18, 2025!

These Starter Decks will include double tamers for the Adventure cast, as well as "Scramble" cards of all colors with new artwork!

There will also be a Release Event encouraging people to introduce friends to the game!

Next up, the release date of BT-21 World Convergence on April 25, 2025!

This set will once again include Digimon and Tamers from all anime seasons, but now including Digimon Universe Applimonsters!

Now we also finally got to see the new [Link] keyword! This effect reads as follows, in this case for [Appmon] trait: Cost 1 (Plug this card from the hand or battle area sideways into the specified Digimon in the battle area.) In the case of this Gatchmon card, this will give the linked Digimon an extra 2000 DP!

BT-21 will also include Owen Dreadnought and Elizamon, and Zenith and Vemmon from Digimon Liberator!

We will also get the previously announced signed cards, and now get a look at the artist's signatures!

Titamon by toriyufu, WarGreymon (X Antibody) by As'Maria, Agunimon by Naochika Morishita, Lanamon by Tonamikanji, Beelzemon: Blast Mode by Keita Amemiya, GraceNovamon by Nakano Haito, and Zephagamon by sasasi!

We also get a sneak peak at the cards from the "Illustration Celebration Pack" which will be included as Box topper! These cards had previously been voted for by attendees of Digimon Con 2024, and got new artworks by the same artists.

There will also be a purchase bonus pack, [LM-05], with 6 new promos and 4 alt-art reprints! The new cards are Valkyrimon, Vikemon, Regalecusmon, Rasielmon, Darkdramon Ace, and Ghoulmon Ace!

Much like the Special Booster Ver. 2.5 will include numbered WarGreymon and MetalGarurumon, BT-21 will feature a low pull-rate numbered Omnimon!

Now more looks at future releases!

EX-09 Extra Booster VERSUS MONSTERS has been announced, with a release date of June 26, 2025! This set will pay homage to the Digital Monster Ver. 1-5 v-pets!

It is unclear if the cards with these special borders will be the Special Rares of the set, or if all cards will recieve them.

Next up, BT-22 Boster CYBER EDEN, a long awaited Cyber Sleuth set! This will be Aiba Ami's debut to the card game! Scheduled to release July 25, 2025!

A tease for EX-10 Extra Booster SINISTER ORDER! They say it will include Villains from all Digimon Anime Seasons! Scheduled to release September 19, 2025!

Then an announcement for LM-06 Limited Card Pack BILLION BULLET! Pre-orders will start in March 2025 with a planned delivery in October 2025! What do you think could be in there?

Lastly another encouragement to go read Digimon Liberator! We got a preview of Episode 10 Part 1 and 2 covers, with the first "good look" at Violet's Ghostmon in its new mega form!

[bambi-kinos]

Dakota Days Review

I got an ask requesting I post the Dakota Days review. The rest of the ask will be mega long so I don't want to just add on the review to the end and make it an even bigger read. So I'm posting this as its own free-floating thing.

So my deal is that in 2023 and 2024 I had enough time on my hands that I read a shitton of Beatle books (including most of the books in my big recommendation post, which I am still thinking about updating so keep in mind it hasn't achieved its final form.) I regularly talk these over with a friend and this review is mostly what I told her when she asked if she should read it or not. Either this will sell you on the book or it will not lol. I did some light editing for readability but otherwise it is mostly intact from the original post date February 13, 2023....good God, 2 fucking years ago!

Okay so Dakota Days. It's an account of John Green, also known as Charlie Swan who was a tarot reader that was close to the Lennons following John's return from his Lost Weekend.

Charlie states from the start that he is only trying to impart a snapshot of what it was like to live with John and Yoko during this time. He straight up admits that he has edited out certain parts of it to respect their privacy (and to cover his own ass as he did his fair share of scamming Yoko during this period.) He also straight up admits that he smushed together many years, events, and conversations in the book. He explains this very sensibly: while he claims a prodigious memory (which will prove not to be the case) he also says that he just spent too many years in John and Yoko's employment to recount all of them without boring the reader.

This is a very effective tactic. Charlie is deliberately telling us something that he is doing (editing the accounts of what happened) because it will make us trust him more. Being honest about misdoings you've done or will do tends to get people to like you more. This is what con artists do when they are trying to get people to fall for their schemes: they will tell you what they are doing and then they will do it. It is effective because it works. Charlie tells us that he is either misremembering or covering his own ass and because he does this we like him, which primes us to accept everything he says.

Charlie gets called up by Yoko only a few hours after John drags home. She renames him Charlie Swan because she knows John will be jealous of him having the same name. Charlie goes along with it because he knows Yoko is an easy mark; he claims in the text that he found John at Disney World of all places and that this is how Yoko ended the long weekend. Considering this is not how it happened we can guess that what Charlie actually did was pull the wool over Yoko's eyes and then claim credit for it. Again, a very effective tactic.

What happens next is really interesting: John feigns being poisoned. He's told Yoko that May poisoned him in his tea. Charlie reads the cards and they tell him "no way was John poisoned" and John leverages this to get Yoko out of the room. John picks Charlie's brain about the occult for a while and then lets him go home after a few hours.

Won't recount everything that happens next but I will say this: Dakota Days is the second half of the story about John's Dakota years and it compliments Fred's book perfectly. Fred depicted a manic John and a cold, distant Yoko. Charlie depicts a depressive John and an anxious Yoko in desperate need of hand holding at every single stage in her life. The amount of time and money that John and Yoko spend on con artists like Charlie as well as their other astrologers, mystics, and Korean herb healers is astounding. They were completely and utterly paralyzed with terror if they had to make decisions on their own. Indecisive, fretful, worried, anxious, Yoko straight up has a panic attack at one point because Charlie orders her to make a decision on her own and she almost dissolves into tears because she can't do it.

The funny part is I find none of these depictions at odd with one another. Yoko's imperious mask always hid the frightened baby underneath and John's aggressive ego always hid the broken hearted lover who wanted to be anywhere but where he was. Yoko didn't give Fred an "in" because he was a servant but she feared and respected Charlie so she could afford to be a broken little girl in front of him. John respected Charlie as a magician and hung on his every word. He didn't see a point in pretending to be something he wasn't like he did with Fred.

Charlie's big thing in the book is that he depicts himself as Spitting Straight Facts at John and Yoko. He condenses these into different conversations. For example, at one point Yoko takes John to Japan for a few months because she wants to convince him to live there full time. All of their clothes are packed according to what Charlie's tarot cards tell them are lucky to take. Yoko asks him to cast spells to keep John in a good mood. They plan out their journey to follow certain directions based on Japanese numerology that calculates the luck of cardinal directions. (Charlie cheerfully admits that this is outside of his education so he can't give an opinion on it. This is part of his set up, he doesn't have a problem admitting his weaknesses which makes him come off as more honest than he really is.)

It all goes wrong within two weeks: John hates Japan. Absolutely hates it. He hates having to entertain Yoko's family. He hates the hotels they are in. Yoko calls Charlie on the verge of tears and tells him that John is humiliating her in front of her family -- apparently Yoko's mother and sister called Yoko out on her bullshit and they accused her of accomplishing nothing with her art. (Holy shit, based?!) Yoko is desperate for John's wealth and status to impress her mother and tells Charlie, "I know what they say about me, they say that all I did was marry John and spend his money!" Which is of course absolutely true.

Yoko is desperate to win her mother's favor because she wants Sean to get a sizable piece of the inheritance but she was so disgusted with Yoko that she wouldn't even acknowledge Sean. (Brutal.) Yoko takes this personally because her sister Setsuko married a Westerner, a diplomat, and Yoko dissolves into hysterics over the phone demanding that Charlie tarot read for new, luckier clothes and have them air mailed to them. As far as I know, Charlie did it because it was an order and Yoko was paying his bills.

It gets worse though because John starts shuffling around like a zombie, moaning, whacking his head against the walls, etc. He tells Charlie that he's pretending to be dead. (I actually think I know what John was doing -- he probably absorbed some of Japan's pop culture about ghosts and he started imitating it.) This freaks out Yoko's family and her mother asked what the hell she was doing bringing this fucked up white guy to Japan. Charlie depicts himself as being the only person John can vent to which is something that I actually believe even though it probably didn't go down in precisely this way.

When Yoko tells John that they're going home soon, John perks up. He starts wooing Yoko's mother and makes nice with her. The funny part is that after all that, John actually succeeded in making Yoko's mother like him! Of course Yoko calls Charlie, again almost in tears, and tells him "John is doing it all wrong, he's being friendly with her, he's not holding her at a distance, he's buying her things and taking her out to fancy eateries!" Yoko is depicted as flat out hysterical in this conversation, enraged and upset that John charmed his way into her mother's good graces instead of making her submit by being ice cold and imperious (aka acting like Mimi) which dissolves her into anguish. And then, at the end of it all, Charlie says that Yoko is being ridiculous and it's a good thing that John is finally getting along with her mother. (Hittin' hard with that street wisdom!) Yoko is very bitter in response. After that chapter I thought, "man Charlie is putting up with a lot huh."

The entire book goes this way. It depicts a John that will make grand gestures towards Yoko (he has Charlie perform a "druidic" marriage ceremony to reaffirm his marriage to Yoko and Charlie has a GREAT time making shit up and forcing John to gather all this bullshit stuff that has nothing to do with Celtic traditions, Charlie's account is so so gleeful about making John dance like a monkey) but actively loathes her the rest of the time. Charlie outright states that their relationship is unhappy.

For example, when Sean was born, John was crazy with worry and made up the Dakota to be more comfortable for Yoko and the baby. But when Yoko finally came home she immediately handed Sean to the nanny (which John HATED, he tried to make her pick Sean back up because he was so upset) and went to her room after a huge fight with John. John then sat down with Charlie and bitterly vented about the fact that he knew Yoko didn't appreciate him and that he was furious that she smoked through her pregnancy and that she wasn't interested in Sean. He accuses her of making Sean sick which is probably true considering Yoko was probably on heroin through out the pregnancy! John is actually kind of stunning here because he is utterly pissed off at Yoko for putting Sean's health at risk and then snubbing John when she finally gets home. His breakdown when Yoko comes home is incredible. They have a baby that she hyped up to Charlie as a Messiah and then she didn't want him. And it still didn't make her love John. The despair in his words.

A lot of the conversations that Charlie depicts follows this pattern. At one point John gets so angry about Yoko's coldness that he picks a fight with her, gets in her face, and just starts screaming at her. She runs out of the room crying because she's frightened of him and then calls Charlie to do a tarot card reading on why John was so mad at her. Charlie speculates it's because she doesn't communicate well with John and he was trying to shake something loose. She goes on a long rant about why this can't possibly be the case because she's only doing what's best for him so please Charlie read the cards…. of course when Charlie spoke to John, John replied that he was angry that Yoko speaks Japanese because he doesn't understand what she's saying to the servants and he thinks that they're talking about him. He's paranoid and angry that she's doing something that he can't get involved with. So he started screaming at her and throwing cigarette packets at her.

At times like this, when Yoko and John are fighting, Charlie takes on an interesting role. He will tell them hard truths about their relationship that they don't like. When Yoko whines that John is being too independent in 1979, Charlie tells her that this is a good thing and that she should be happy that John doesn't need to be managed. He also tells her that she and John will be happier if they are independent of each other. This bounces off Yoko completely and she whines (Yoko is VERY childish in this book) that this isn't possible or safe because John is too stupid (!!) and naive (!!) to make decisions on his own.

Charlie very deliberately depicts himself almost as a marriage counselor to them. You can see his prodigious perfect memory fails him at these junctures because when he relays conversations, John and Yoko don't sound like themselves most of the time. But the funny part is, I totally believe it. I actually do think that Charlie Swan had moments where he gave his unvarnished opinion about JohnandYoko to John and Yoko. He could do this safely for a few reasons:

1) He knew they considered him superior to them. He successfully dug a foothold in their minds and had them both totally convinced that he was legit. They couldn't throw him out because he was their closest tarot reader and it looks like he also had a legitimate head for business because he was able to give them some good financial advice. All of this meant that they were in awe of him and neither of them wanted to go against what he said. They were completely at his mercy. In a way I think it's lucky that Charlie wasn't more malicious because he could have manipulated John and Yoko into doing some depraved shit if he felt like it. They both worshipped him completely. Independent sources verified that John called Charlie "the Oracle" and it wasn't all a jest.

2) Conmen are incredibly good at reading people. They see our weaknesses and they understand them. He had John and Yoko sized up the moment he met them. He realized John and Yoko were both inherently childish, very credulous, willing to believe anything, and that they would only take the easy way out. They wanted self improvement to come only at the cost of their check books. They loved spending money (I think they both had shopping addictions -- I know because I have a shopping addiction) and they didn't want to be disciplined in the slightest. In fact Charlie depicts several moments where outside parties force John and Yoko to be disciplined and they both react like children being forced to sit in the time out chair.

3) John and Yoko, being very petulant, lazy, and weak at this stage of their lives, were totally impervious to criticism. John at least admitted that he knew Charlie was right about certain things but Yoko always had excuses for why she couldn't give John a longer leash/respect him as her life partner, be nice to her mother (Charlie at one point straight up asks why she's being such a bitch to her mother and Yoko is full of pathetic excuses), spend time with her baby, etc. (She couldn't buy farmland on her own because she didn't know how to ascertain if any of the property was good, so she had Charlie do readings so she didn't have to take responsibility for it.) John and Yoko did not want to shoulder any kind of responsibility for anything at all. They are both depicted as sleepwalking through life, becoming outraged when anything temporarily waylaid them.

You could give them as many hard truths as you wanted and it would never take because they will never ever accept it or act on it or own their mistakes. John and Yoko are often at odds in the book, screaming and arguing with each other, John fucking things up on purpose for Yoko's family, but when it comes to Growing The Hell Up, they were a united couple saying "no the hell we will not!"

This is reading between the lines now but I think Charlie is straight up laughing at them at some points and he's letting us in on the joke. He knows that so long as they remain petulant and undisciplined, he will always have a job. So he can tell them honestly to their faces that they are bad parents, that they are a terrible couple, that John is a sullen asshole and Yoko is a whiny bitch, and they will never ever fire him. They will argue with him but Yoko will have him back in her bedroom in 15 minutes to get him to read tarot cards for her again.

A few things I found interesting:

Sean is not portrayed at all in the book. John once describes Sean as overly quiet and meek especially around John and John says it's because he knows Sean is frightened of him. Interesting that this is at odds with Fred's portrayal of Sean. However I actually feel a little soft towards Charlie Swan on this because I think he did it to protect Sean, the way he said he would protect the Lennons' privacy at the beginning of the book. I legit think he was shielding Sean because Sean under 18 when Charlie published this. I think he didn't want Sean to have to wrestle with being depicted in a memoir at that age. The Dakota situation is so fucked up that I legit believe that this expert scam artist might have been in the only moral person on John and Yoko's payroll. I say this because Charlie is absolutely fearless towards John and Yoko in this book so he clearly didn't give a shit about being sued for libel. So IMO he did it to protect Sean because Sean was only a child.

John goes in a 15 month depression in 1978 because Sean once asked him (after seeing one of their poor cats fall out of a window) what happened to the cat that died. John tells him that the cat went to the Land of the Dead because it fell, explaining that nothing can survive a fall out of a window that high. Sean apparently thought about it and said "then Daddy, why haven't you walked out the window?" Jesus Christ.

Charlie scolds John for being a shitty parent and tells him that Sean is just a kid and that he doesn't understand what he's saying. He's just repeating things that he's heard around the house, and if you read between the lines you can feel Charlie judging John and Yoko because Charlie understands that this exposure to the occult is fucking Sean up. John becomes very surly and asks him "how the hell do you know" to which Charlie replies "I studied art therapy and child psychology in college for my teaching degree." (Independent verification has proven that this is true!) John sinks even deeper into a funk that yet another person is proving to be more knowledgeable about John's children than John himself, and rolls over in bed, beginning a 15 month period where he won't see anyone. He just lays there watching tv with the sound off.

Yoko is constantly on edge. She's obsessed with what people think of her. Charlie describes 1979/80 as being very trying because Yoko constantly repeating the same questions for Charlie to read for, trying to divine what stories journalists will write about her next.

John is similarly obsessed with having a positive PR image. He's deeply upset that no one liked his Rock n Roll or Shaved Fish albums (because they don't have new material.) John spends an entire chapter moaning that he hates his audience because they don't love him enough. Then he admits that he thinks he owes them new material but that he won't commit to anything without having a decent stock of songs to burn through. Then he swivels back to piling more blame onto his audience and continues bitching that they don't love him enough to make up for the anguish that he feels all the time. He piled a lot of blame and resentment onto The Public for not being able to "fix" his sadness.

At one point Yoko wants to buy blessings/curses from an actual witch so they go to Brazil. They find a bruja and Charlie intimates to the audience that brujas are expert con artists in a class of their own. He relates that a bruja once sabotaged a building project at which time the builders invited her onto the property to do an """exorcism""" from which she made a tidy profit and they were able to resume building. (Charlie does not depict it in precisely this way but he relates the story in such broad ""magical"" terms that you can see him grinning, pointing, winking, and nodding at you from across the room. Charlie made it as obvious as he possibly could that he was totally fucking with these people and that he knew when other magicians were fucking with people as well.)

Yoko has to sit through a week of a Brazilian woman putting her through fake and expensive rituals, all while putting on a fake Jamaican accent??? Yoko is so dumb and desperate that she doesn't see through it. Charlie is incredibly contemptuous through out the section. He does have an interesting "magic" battle with the bruja (here called Nora, her actual name was Lena) where they size each other up and the bruja agrees to take Yoko on as a client. Eventually Yoko gets cold feet and begs Charlie for a way to get her out of the rituals because she's scared that Nora mentioned a "blood sacrifice" and Yoko doesn't want to kill someone.

To which Charlie replies: "Yoko, why don't you just tell Nora how you feel? You're the client, if you don't want to make a blood sacrifice then just ask Nora to do something different. I don't think she's going to kill a person but if you're that worried then you can tell Nora about your concerns and she'll either change it or explain what will happen. You're paying her, remember?"

Yoko dissolves into more hysterics. She's scared the bruja will put a curse on her or Sean or John. She's too anxious to ask for clarification or help. Charlie rolls his eyes through the entire section.

Then the actual ritual happens, Nora kills a dove (poor thing) and then tells Yoko to sign her name to sell her soul to…something? I actually didn't understand what, though Charlie told Yoko "it's impossible for you to sell your soul so just go along with it dumbass."

But Yoko melts down. She can't do it. She begs Charlie to sign on her behalf and it sounds like she was actually crying because she was so scared. Charlie and Nora both sigh but Charlie signs the document and Nora goes "okay, done!"

Yoko then asks Charlie "Hey did you sign Charlie Swan or John Green?" To which Charlie replies, "what makes you think I signed either of those names?" Yoko freaks out and follows him around going "What name did you sign?? Whose soul did you sell??? Charlie?!!!! Charlie!!!!" But he never tells her lmao. He is so fucking contemptuous of her, it's amazing. This sequence is Charlie Swan rubbing his superiority in Yoko's face with utter glee, and he completely gets away with it. She's too scared to argue with him.

Obviously Charlie doesn't talk about everything here. For example, he and Sam Green both pulled a fast one on Yoko by counterfeiting a painting and selling it to her -- her own boyfriend! It was a complete success, she paid them both handsomely for it. He doesn't talk about that here. But it's clear from the outset IMO that he lies his ass off about tarot reading through out the entire book and is able to do as well as he does because he does actually have some good business sense.

I have to be honest: I respect the fuck out of Charlie Swan. This man is a king. He scammed John and Yoko out of millions. He did so well that he could tell them how awful they were to their faces and they had no choice but to swallow it whole. They didn't have the sac to stand up to him. And he was kind enough to write this book and show us how he did it: by taking advantage of their fear, petulance, and refusal to grow up. Dakota Days is an amazing book.

I have decided that the rocknroll industry is one big trailer park and John and Yoko had the biggest trailer. John is straight up wandering around in a robe and curlers reading the astrology and Dear Abby sections of the newspaper, Yoko is knocking back forties wondering when she can upgrade to the younger model. Sean is their poor kid with a learning disorder that is doing the pyromaniac thing. Going to Swiss boarding school (so that Yoko didn't have to be reminded of John) is probably what straightened him out and saved him.

Not trying to diss trailer parks, I met a lot of nice people who lived in them when I worked insurance, so pulling more from sitcom trash here. But John and Yoko fought, a lot, like these types of couples always do (that anecdote of Pete Shotton's second phone call where Yoko is screaming her head off in the background. I live next to a trashy family like this.) Who knows what Sean heard and what he repeated because he was so young.

This is the book that convinced me that John retreated into the Dakota out of shame. He knew that being with Paul was the best thing that ever happened to him, the only good thing, and he fucked it up with drugs and untreated mental illness. Which sadly has to be hung around his own neck. He blew his life up for no reason and he hid because he knew that.

John thought there were only two options: go back to Yoko or eat crow and go back to Paul. He couldn't stand either but at least with Yoko he didn't have to dance for the press. It never occurred to him that he had options and could do anything.

[sahcon]

📢Official Stuck at Home Con 2024 announcement mega-thread!

SAHCon will be happening this year on July 20th, 2024, with the Friday Showcase on July 19th!

Links to applications for everything below!

Panelist Applications: https://forms.gle/AatVQ1HmxH2qdoaL7

Friday Showcase: https://forms.gle/vCFULiamEYoqd3Dv6

Artist Alley: https://forms.gle/EGpfzGHatK8Q6oLZ8

Deadlines for all applications are May 17th, 2024 at 11:59 pm Eastern time!

Note that this is just the deadline to APPLY - you don't have to have everything done for the showcase or your panel by then!

We'll be posting more announcements about guests, events, and more as we get closer to SAHCon!

[falcemartello]

(Solo per chi "mastica" matematica)

-----

Fallisce la svedese Northvolt, produceva batterie per veicoli elettrici.

Quelli responsabili del “successone” Northvolt vogliono che noi paghiamo loro un esercito. Cosa potrà mai andare storto? Per chi non fosse al corrente: Northvolt, fondata nel 2016, aveva raccolto finanziamenti per circa 15 miliardi di dollari con l'obiettivo di creare una filiera europea indipendente per le batterie, riducendo la dipendenza dai produttori asiatici. Tuttavia, nel novembre 2024, l'azienda ha dichiarato bancarotta negli Stati Uniti, avvalendosi del Chapter 11, una norma fallimentare che permette di continuare le operazioni mentre si cerca un accordo con i creditori. Con debiti per 5,8 miliardi di dollari e solo 30 milioni di liquidità in cassa, Northvolt ha dovuto affrontare una situazione critica, segnata da licenziamenti massicci (1.600 dipendenti, circa un quinto della forza lavoro globale), chiusura di siti e problemi operativi, come l'incapacità di aumentare la produzione su larga scala nella sua principale fabbrica di Skellefteå, in Svezia. Tra i fattori che hanno contribuito al fallimento ci sono stati: - **Problemi tecnici e operativi**: la produzione non ha mai raggiunto i livelli previsti, con la fabbrica di Skellefteå che operava a meno dell'1% della capacità teorica. - **Incidenti e sicurezza**: si sono verificati incidenti gravi, tra cui esplosioni e morti sul lavoro, che hanno danneggiato la reputazione dell'azienda. - **Competizione asiatica**: i costi di produzione europei, appesantiti da normative complesse e burocrazia, non sono riusciti a competere con quelli dei giganti asiatici come CATL, che stanno espandendo la loro presenza in Europa. - **Errori strategici**: l'azienda ha puntato su un'espansione ambiziosa senza consolidare una base operativa solida, portando a perdite nette di 1,2 miliardi di dollari nel 2023. Questo caso evidenzia le difficoltà dell'Europa nel costruire un'industria delle batterie competitiva, nonostante gli sforzi politici e i sussidi pubblici, come i 902 milioni di euro stanziati dalla Germania per una gigafactory a Heide. Il fallimento di Northvolt ha anche sollevato preoccupazioni sul rischio di una crescente dipendenza dalla Cina, che domina il mercato globale delle batterie e sta costruendo impianti in Europa, come quello di CATL in Germania e Ungheria. Va notato che non tutte le "mega fabbriche" di batterie europee hanno fallito. Ad esempio, progetti come quello di Automotive Cells Company (ACC) in Francia, con la partecipazione di Stellantis, Mercedes-Benz e TotalEnergies, stanno proseguendo, anche se con ritardi e difficoltà simili legate a costi e competizione. Tuttavia, il caso Northvolt rappresenta un campanello d'allarme per l'Europa, che deve affrontare sfide strutturali, normative e competitive per raggiungere l'autonomia strategica nel settore delle batterie.

[ofmdrecaps]

10/24-25/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Happy birthday Simon Nathan! David Jenkins; Rhys Darby; Samba Schutte; Kristian Nairn; Minnie Driver; Boris McGiver; Anapela Polataivao; Lindsey Cantrell; Damien Gerard; Fan Spotlight; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Today's Taika.

Happy belated birthday to one of our darling writers-- Simone Nathan! Thank you to @ofmdframes for letting us know which Episodes and more about how she got us more Ed sketches! Yall are the best! (Simone's birthday was 10/24 which was originally when I planned no posting this, sorry for the delay!)

Source: Nathan Foad's IG

== David Jenkins ==

David's been sharing some lovely memes/work from our crew again <3

Source: David's Twitter

He also really got into responding to fans, and we ended up with some S3 and BTS commentary.

Source: HoneyBeesBoy Tweet / OrphanedNebula Reply / Skrifores Reply / Arcadia_Tweets Reply

== Surprise Rhys Darby ==

Rhys made a surprise comedy show visit in Toronto Ontario a few days back! Shocked, alarmed, and delighted fans who happened to be there!!

Source: James Roque Comedy

Also, while not related specifically to the last couple days, there were some absolutely lovely tweets from folks about Rhys and their interactions with him from cons that I thought would be nice to share!

Source: RebTamas Twitter

Our dear @appleteeth also decided to start collecting them! Thank you for capturing all these Liz!

Source: Liz / AppleTeeth's Twitter And another one in response to Liz's collecting!

Source: WInglyCoded Twitter

There was also a new 'That Christmas' Interview that was posted:

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Riverside Radio | SW London Local Radio (@thisisriverside)

Source: ThisIsRiverside Instagram

== Samba Schutte ==

Samba was kind enough to share some adorable BTS with us on "how he was hired".

Source: Samba's Instagram Stories

== Kristian Nairn ==

Kristian will be joining another con at the beginning of the year-- on Jan 18-19 2025 he'll be in Dublin Ireland at Mega Con Live!

Source: MegaConLiveDublin

More Dj events! October 31, 2024 - John Coteau Cinema: Tickets

Source: Kristian's Instagram

== Minnie Driver ==

Supposedly Minnie is in this picture but all I see is beautiful fall leaves!

Source: Minnie's Instagram

== Boris McGiver ==

Another shot of our Father Bonnet in his new show Teacup available on Peacock!

Source: Mark Hill Photography Instagram

== Anapela Polataivao ==

Auntie's new film Tina has been getting so much praise from the trailer alone! They posted some clips from the film as well as how to pronounce the films name with Miki Magasiva as well if you're interested!

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Polynesian Music Network+ (@polynesianmusic)

Source: Polynesian Music Instagram

== Lindsey Cantrell ==

Lindsey was working with Greeked Pictures a couple weeks back , and they're sharing some of her photos during post production.

Source: Lindsey Cantrell's Instagram

== Damien Gerard ==

A fan of the Call of Duty games made some fan-content and sent it his way and made his day <3

Source: Damien's Twitter

== OFMD Rewind ==

Our friends over at @adoptourcrew finished up the OFMD Rewind on the 24th with Episode 8! If you have access to twitter, please visit their twitter thread here! If you don't have access to twitter, you can see the thread on the OFMD Renewal Repo.

Source: Adopt Our Crew Twitter

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards =

Slowly catching up on Cast cards by the fabulous and kind @melvisik! First up today is Antoine Douaihy, one of our executive producers! Now-- I was getting confused on the different level producers so I figured I'd mention the difference here in case you were too! Executive Producers: "The executive producer sits at the top of the production hierarchy as it is their job to source and secure financing for production. Without them, a film or show could never be made as they are the ones who kickstart the project." - Toronto Film School

-- Line Producer --

Another producer is up, Susan Parker! One of our Line Producers for the show! " Line producers are at the heart of a production, hiring the crew, allocating the money and making sure the filming is done safely, creatively, on budget and on time. They are typically the most senior member of the production team, second only to the producers. Working closely with heads of departments, they decide how the money gets spent, delivering the best possible product to the producer or series producer while offering the director and heads of department enough money to realise the vision." - ScreenSkills

-- Makeup Artists --

Last but not least for the night is Devan Weitzman, another of our fabulous make-up artists!

Source: Melvisik's Twitter

== Love Notes ==

Hey there lovelies! Gosh it's been a wild ride this fall (and spring for those of you on the opposite site of the world). I truly hope yall are getting some rest and re-cooperation time. There's been so much going on. This Love Note is very short-- because I'm overwhelmed at the moment. Please just remember that It's OK not to be OK, ya? Sit with your feelings sometimes and give them some love, sad feelings are part of you too, and the more we recognize them and give them love too, the more we heal. Take care Crew, this is a gentle reminder to be kind to yourself today <3

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Wisterian Woman | Wellness, Empowerment, Mental Health (@wisterianwoman)

Source: WisterianWoman Instagram

== Daily Darby / Today's Taika ==

No theme today, just these goobers <3 Gifs courtesy of the darling @wastingyourgum and @eaion!

[weixuldo]

Hayden Christensen

~~Drabbles~~

overstimming him💫

breeding k!nk💫

~~Thoughts~~

Im just thirsting

~~Media (pics n short clips)~~

Awake bloopers

The pill scene in awake?!

hands?!

mega-con 2024

[cityof2morrow]

3-in-1 Supermarket 002

Published: 1-13-2024 | Updated: N/A SUMMARY Part 002 of the 3-in-1 Supermarket collection (Simmons, 2023) includes functional, stockable foods! Each item should yield enough food points to prepare most basic game meals. DETAILS Requires all EPs/SPs. §50 | Appliances > Misc You need Part 001 of the 3-in-1 Supermarket collection (Simmons, 2023) and one of the following: Shift Everything (Lamare, 2022) OR Object Freedom 1.02 (Fway, 2023). All package files with “MESH” in the filename are REQUIRED for all textures/recolors to show properly.

ITEMS Beef (476 poly) Beef Package (720 poly) Big Fried Chicken (400 poly) Big Fried Chicken Package (488 poly) Big Roast Chicken (576 poly) Cowplant (536 poly) Half Cowplant (358 poly) Fish (364 poly) Fish Package (132 poly) Fish Steak (300 poly) Fish Steak Package (388 poly) Lab Meat Packages 001-004 (168-568 poly) Lab Meats 001-004 (80-482 poly) Platter Shelf (294 poly) Pork (604 poly) Pork Package (692 poly) Steak (368 poly) Steak Package (456 poly) Tray Shelf (54 poly) DOWNLOAD (choose one) from SFS | from MEGA

CREDITS Thanks: Stockable Food Math (@curiousb), @chocolatecitysim, @kashmiresims. Sources: Any Color You Like (CuriousB, 2010), BBNiche1Master (BuggyBooz, 2012), Beyno (Korn via BBFonts), Cubic Dynamics (EA/Maxis), Dessert Deco Set (@pforestsims, 2021), EA/Maxis, FFP in SimPE (Creesims, 2019), Offuturistic Infographic (Freepik), One More Slot Package (OMSPs) (SilentLucidity, 2009), Other Imagery (EA/Maxis; Hyde, 2000-2013 via LightningCoyote), Shop Essentials (Simplan-X, 2006), Shopping Set (Asamo Sims, 2005), Tray (Plaggy, 2022 via Creative Commons Attribution), Food Assets via Creative Commons Attribution via Sketchfab (CheBe, 2023; 21some, 2022; Moreno, 2022; Virtua Con, 2022; Patrakeevasveta, 2020/2021; Pooiloui2, 2020; 1-3D.com, 2014), Supermarket (JC/Sims Connection, 2006), “How do I change object ‘weight’ for surfaces?” (Simmer22 via modthesims.com, 2017), Make Food Clutter Useable – A Tutorial (@deedee-sims, 2019),  Mini-Tutorial: Batch-fix Custom Objects to make them *placeable on OFB shelves* (Numenor, 2006), SimPE Resources (@gayars, 2022), Stockable Foods (CuriousB, 2023),  “What restricts which object can go into which slots?” (Jonasn, 2023), Vegemite Jar (WR/HChangeri), Images (Iskisoon, 2023; Macrovector, 2023; 2022; 2019; Photographeaasia, 2023; Freepik, 2023; Upklya, 2022; Rawpixel).

[greeneyed-thestral]

Good Omens x I p’ me, tu p’ te

[maximumwobblerbanditdonut]

Hollywood heartthrob James McAvoy is making the rounds in Glasgow -Credit: The Mega Agency

Posted 30th October 2024

Glasgow Times

James McAvoy is currently in cinemas starring in “Speak No Evil”, but the actor is also preparing to step behind the camera with his directorial debut, California Schemin’.

California Schemin': How Two Lads from Scotland Conned the Music Industry, is based on the true story of two Scottish friends Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd who pretended to be a California rap duo, Silibil N' Brains, in a hip-hop hoax based on Bain's autobiography. Two Scottish lads from Dundee conned the music industry by pretending to be an established Californian rap duo, appearing on MTV and bagging a record deal until their scam unravelled.

'California Schemin' will star Séamus McLean Ross and Samuel Bottomley. James McAvoy's directorial debut California Schemin about a hip-hop hoax has presold to StudioCanal for the U.K. and Ireland and a range of other international markets.

California Schemin' is currently in pre-production and begins filming next month.

#californiaschemin #jamesmacavoy #director @seamusrOss @sam_bottomley #StudioCanal

[herrinarte]

Ok so jumping off what I said about SJM probably never writing a book on Mor and if she did it would be terrible, I actually have a decent idea of what she could do if she had the balls to do it.

Right, so Velaris is the only city under Rhysand’s rule that is actually a safe place for people to live so naturally you’re going to get an uprising. Classic revolution against the rich and prosperous from the poor and tortured. A group of fae are causing a stir and Rhys gets spooked so he sends Mor to ‘sort them out’, but when she gets there she is confronted by the leader of the revolution, a fae woman from the CoN who tells her she has suffered for long enough and so have so many women, women like her and Mor.

It would be a whole book about Mor having to confront the fact that she had escaped the nightmare that so many women have no choice but to spend their whole life living in and eventually die in, and did nothing to help them. Having to face the reality that Mr feminist, it’s your choice, I need a lint roller, Rhysand, might not be a good ruler and only really makes changes that benefit himself and the people close to him.

The romance would be between her and the revolution leader as they fight back and forth, Mor trying to derail the revolution and the leader steam rolling ahead whilst showing Mor how corrupt the system that she works for is. Eventually Mor learns from her and is the first to fall in love and actually tries to make a difference in the world for her people because she genuinely cares about them now and the leader finally allows herself to open up and trust someone who used to be her enemy.

It would involve a lot of gay tension and heated arguments about politics and such but it would also solve the glaring issue of Rhysand being an obviously bad ruler that no one seems to address within the books or acknowledge.

Obviously Sarah would never do this because it would require her to 1) state in black and white that Rhys is a bad ruler and not a super cool, mega genius feminist who would totally rock at being a high king. 2) write like an actual queer story. 3) be political.

It’s kind of disappointing that she doesn’t do stuff like this though. I’m no best selling author, I have no credentials, but I can see a world that she made that she could use to say something. She has loads of characters sat at the sidelines, waiting to be something, and she just goes for what she knows every time. I get it, she writes the same story over and over because it works and sells, but as a writer shouldn’t you make yourself uncomfortable? Try to challenge yourself. She’s made so much money from her books she has the financial stability to take risks that other authors don’t. She could write anything and she’d at least get sales from the die hard fans.

I know some will say she doesn’t want to say anything, her books are escapism, but SJM consistently says she want women at the centre of her books, that she’s a feminist or whatever, and I’m just screaming THEN SAY SOMETHING OF WORTH GIRL.

Women are at the centre yet the lady of the autumn court is still unnamed after all these years, a prominent figure of political importance, the mother of a main character. Still no name. Come on, girl, really?

Anyway, rant 2 over. I really do think her books are fun if you turn off your brain for 6hrs but I can’t help but feel like Sarah is slacking, majorly. In 2024 we can do better.

[dollcommercials]

Monster High/Mega Blocks Comic Con Frankie's Bedroom Playset Instagram Ad (2024)

[starfleetwitch]

Jemma Redgrave's Interview Mega Con 2024